Ronan Farrow Might Bring His Investigative Skills to HBO

Months after reporting several explosive stories about Harvey Weinstein,The Hollywood Reporter says that Ronan Farrow is reportedly this close to landing a multi-year deal at HBO, one that would include an “investigative documentary component”—which would allow Farrow to continue the journalistic work that recently catapulted his career to the next level. What’s become increasingly clear over the past few months is that those first pieces about Weinstein only scratched the surface of Hollywood’s grim underbelly; Farrow bringing his clout to HBO could be a true game-changer in the industry, ripping out more sordid, underreported stories in the film world and beyond. Representatives for HBO have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for confirmation of the deal.

T.H.R. reports this detail about the possible deal in a lengthy cover story focused on the star reporter, who spoke somewhat candidly to the trade publication about his life after Weinstein. (Farrow was beaten out on the story only by the breakthrough work done by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.) In the T.H.R. piece, Farrow alleged that once he began diving into the Weinstein story, he started getting stalked and receiving mysterious phone calls. Per T.H.R., the reported behavior got so bad that Farrow had to move out of his Columbus Circle apartment. Mia Farrow, Ronan’s mother, also spoke out for the first time about her son’s work in the piece, saying she was “increasingly concerned for his safety.”

“But he knew and I knew that it was a moral issue,” she continued. “He had to continue, even when that meant putting a lot on the line.”

Representatives for Weinstein have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment about Farrow’s safety claims.

In addition, Farrow also revealed that his relationship with his estranged father, Woody Allen, is deeply complicated. Though the reporter has distanced himself from Allen in the past—and has made it clear that he supports his sister Dylan Farrow, who accused Allen of assaulting her as a child (Allen denied the charges)—the two are nominally on speaking terms.

“I don’t actually know the answer to that,” Farrow said when asked when he last spoke to Allen. “We have had contact over the years, but he is not someone that I keep up with regularly.”

He also remained neutral when asked if he believes the industry will eventually turn on Allen the way it has on Weinstein.

“It’s not for me to say what Hollywood will or won’t do,” Farrow said. “I will say that in every industry there are still powerful men facing credible allegations of wrongdoing who continue to evade accountability. As empowering a moment as this moment is, there’s still a long way to go.” Those words stand in sharp contrast to some of Farrow’s previous remarks—particularly when he famously took jabs at his father on Twitter.